Killer eyes
by waistcoat35
Summary: One-shot: Even the house pet can turn to the hunter. HTTYD 2 spoilers - Please R&R!
**Killer Eyes**

 **Alright, I know I haven't updated any of my big fics (OR smaller ones) in ages, but please don't kill me! Hopefully this isn't all derpy or anything. Also, I know that Fiddlesticks probably died ages ago in the books, and that he wasn't in the film, and that if he was adopted by Valka and then passed on to Hiccup like in my Headcanons he'd be dead WAY before Hiccup was 20, but hey - my fic, if I want him to be a magical cat with an insane lifespan then he can be! XD**

 **This was partially based on the soundtrack of BBC documentary "The Hunt", from a piece called "A Game of Strategy" by Steven Price, as well as "The Race" by 30 Seconds to Mars. I recommend listening to them, they're freaking epic!**

Hiccup sat cross-legged in the grass, his back against a great oak tree on a hill in the wilder part of Berk. At the minute he was sketching his old cat Fiddlesticks, who was sitting serenely on a rock a few feet away, tail curled round his black paws, the king of his domain. The cat's green eyes were duller now with age, and his coat had lost some of its luster, but he was still an undisputed ruler in his sentry over his territory. He had a look in his eyes that demanded respect, and the mightiest of beasts left him alone for fear of a bad scratching.

It was strange, really - sometimes the old tom reminded him of somebody, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

And as Hiccup sat watching Fiddlesticks, deep in thought, a change came over the previously docile cat. A new light entered those tired yet resilient green eyes, one that Hiccup knew all too well from dragons, from wild creatures, even from vikings - the dreaded light of a hunter's eyes. Killer eyes.

The cat's gaze was firmly fixed on a young woodpigeon trotting contentedly through the grass just outside the shadow cast by the oak tree. Fiddlesticks' attitude had change drastically, his curled tail now lashing furiously as he unsheathed his claws. He slunk into the oak tree's shadow, his brown-black fur blending in against it perfectly. He crept closer to his cooing quarry, who was still oblivious to the hunter's prescence. The cat's tongue ran over the sharp fangs on his upper jaw, as they were bared for the kill. And with a jolt of dread that was delivered with an unwelcome memory, Hiccup realised who the cat currently reminded him of...

 _Toothless._

Toothless' eyes changing into narrowed, hostile slits. Toothless stalking towards Hiccup, who was oblivious at first to the dragon's intent. Toothless' gaping mouth filling with the glow of purple plasma. Toothless unleashing a hunter's wrath upon Hiccup, Toothless blasting Stoick and panting with exertion as the warrior fell to the ground amid chunks of ice.

 _Toothless..._

Suddenly, as Hiccup snapped out of the memory and saw Fiddlesticks bunching his hindquarters for the final leap, something odd came over him.

"STOP!"

He sprang to his feet and shoved the cat roughly out of the way, causing his prey to fly away with a coo of alarm. His breath came in shaky gasps, the terror of that awful memory brought back all at once.

Fiddlesticks got up shakily, limping slightly after landing hard on one paw, and shot Hiccup a filthy look - before it melted into one of concern, as he limped over to Hiccup and rubbed against his legs, mewling like a kitten. Hiccup bent down then and scooped his friend up, burying his face in the dark fur as he sank down by the tree trunk, shoulders shaking as he choked on silent sobs.

Not just sobs for his father, no - he was crying from the guilt, too. Guilt over how he had treated Toothless, guilt over how he treated Fiddlesticks, guilt over the fact that he could've saved his father - it should've been him, it should've been him who died!

And it hit him, too, that either Toothless nor Fiddlesticks could help it - Toothless was under the alpha's control, he didn't know what he was doing. And in a way, Fiddlesticks was under a different kind of control - the control of his instincts, his ancestral memories urging him to hunt and kill...

"I- I'm sorry, bud... I..."

"I miss him."

 _"I miss him too."_

"Huh?" Hiccup looked up in confusion - he could've sworn he heard a voice.

 _"Your pain is my pain, comrade, so I miss your father as you do, as if he were my own father..."_

Great. First a hunting cat gave him flashbacks, then he has a weird epiphany in which said cat is talking like an old soldier, calling him comrade and giving him weird images of Stoick with a cat as a son.

"Well, nice talk, I should really get back to Berk and stop having that evening mead with Gobber."

 _"Have fun with that, comrade."_

"Quit stalking my mind, Killer-eyes."


End file.
